Christ 1887

Odilon Redon made this ‘Christ’ using charcoal and black chalk. A somber work, the composition centres on the face of Christ, framed by a crown of thorns. The texture is achieved through dense, interwoven lines and smudging, giving the image a hazy, dreamlike quality. Redon's treatment destabilizes established meanings, moving away from traditional representations of religious iconography. Instead of portraying Christ in glory, he presents a figure marked by suffering. The intense gaze and stark contrast between light and shadow evoke a sense of internal turmoil. The crown of thorns, rendered as sharp, aggressive spikes, merges with the figure's form, blurring the boundary between the body and its torment. Redon challenges our understanding of the divine and invites a meditation on existential themes of pain and redemption, underscoring that art continually evolves through interpretation.